Joe Wynn, owner of Two Rivers Burrito, is ready for National Burrito Day, April 2. (THE WESTFIELD NEWS PHOTO)
WESTFIELD – At Two Rivers Burrito Co., owner Joe Wynn can usually be found behind the counter, filling orders, chatting with customers and making sure his employees are doing well.
Wynn’s hands-on approach – along with delicious food and quality ingredients – have been the recipe for Two Rivers Burrito’s success since the doors opened in 2013 as well as throughout the pandemic.
When Wynn opened the southwest restaurant eight years ago this May, he and his business partners – longtime friends – wanted to bring fresh, local ingredients to the city. Today, Two Rivers is still run by family and friends and their mission remains the same.
This Thursday, April 1, is National Burrito Day, the perfect time to try one of Two Rivers’ many burrito offerings, the company’s signature menu item.
“We put burrito in the name and most prominently on our signage and print in order to keep things clear and simple for our customers and the community,” said Wynn.
Wynn’s burrito secret? Well, it’s not a secret.
“What makes them so good starts with quality ingredients,” he said. “We try to source as much food locally and regionally as possible. We work quite diligently on communication and organization, insisting on a very high standard and consistency.”
Wynn said his staff is a big part of Two Rivers’ success.
“The excellent crew we have here puts in a lot of time, effort, and expertise preparing the recipes daily,” said Wynn. “We don’t open to the public until lunchtime, but the kitchen opens and get started at 6 a.m. sharp every day. We work hard to keep the place up and clean. And then the crew that serves burritos during the day — the crew on the line – is extremely well trained and effective in their execution.”
Excellent service is another contributor to the restaurant’s success.
“The crew on the front end always aims to give the very best customer service to our valued patrons,” said Wynn. “We offer four burrito varieties typically: vegetarian, chicken, beef, and pork. We have all sorts of customization options.”
The burritos are all wrapped in a 12-inch white flour tortilla from Mayan Farms in Canton, Mass. There is a whole wheat option on burritos and a corn tortilla option on tacos. The corn tortillas are made by Mi Tierra out of Springfield, all locally grown organic non-GMO corn.
“The chicken burrito is the most popular, but they are all good,” said Wynn.
Throughout the pandemic, Two Rivers has been mostly open, taking every precaution and temporarily shutting its doors when necessary to keep staff and customers safe.
“We have a relatively small restaurant square footage wise, so while the state of Massachusetts still requires 6-feet social distancing, our occupancy is quite low compared to past years,” Wynn said.
Two Rivers Burrito Co.’s pork carnitas burrito. (HOPE E. TREMBLAY/THE WESTFIELD NEWS)
“During peak mealtimes and seasons in the past we would commonly have full dining room areas, a full patio, and occasionally a line out the front door and a second line out the back door,” he added. “While Covid restrictions remain, we are asking all of our customers to pre-order their meals online or over the phone in order to keep the restaurant from getting overcrowded. This will probably be particularly important on special occasions like National Burrito Day and Cinco de Mayo this year.”
Wynn said customers have been respectful of the guidelines and have continued to support the restaurant.
“We constantly thank our customers for their patience and cooperation on that,” he said. “We always look forward to seeing everybody each week. Additionally, this year we are looking forward to things getting better, folks staying healthy, effective vaccinations, a nice spring and summer, and hopefully a better year all around for everybody.”
Two Rivers Burrito Co. is located at 36 Elm St. Visit tworiversburritocompany.com for menu and online ordering. Walk-in orders are not accepted during the pandemic. Two Rivers is open Tuesday – Saturday, 11:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.
